Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

At a glance

• English chef, writer and broadcaster, known for the River Cottage series on Channel 4 and the cookery school and restaurant of the same name.
• Has argued for decades for local, seasonal and home-grown food, and for cooking with simple basic ingredients.
• Ran public campaigns on food and the environment, such as Hugh’s Fish Fight on fish discarded at sea, and on food waste.
• Has shifted in recent years towards plant-rich cooking, with books such as River Cottage Veg Every Day! (2011) and Eat Better Forever (2022).
• Joined nutrition scientist Sarah Berry on ZOE in 2026 to discuss twelve everyday high-fibre foods and their link with heart disease, dementia and cancer.
• Relevant because he translates scientific advice — more fibre, more plants, less ultra-processed food — into tasty, doable home cooking.